April in Iraq

Former U.S. defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld called April 9, 2003 "a very good day." He called April 29, 2004 a "catastrophe." On both occasions, he was basing his judgments on what was happening in the war in Iraq. Test your knowledge of the war in Iraq and of Iraqi history in a short quiz and then answer one essential question for critical thinking.

Take the following quiz to see how much you know about the history and current state of the conflict in Iraq. Find the correct answers by consulting the World Conflicts Today Iraq report. The answer key is located at the end of this activity.

1. Who said "Our armies do not come into your cities and lands as conquerors or enemies, but as liberators," and in what context?

a. President George W. Bush, just before U.S. forces invaded Iraq in 2003
b. British prime minister Tony Blair, shortly after British forces had taken over Basra in 2003
c. U.S. commander Tommy Franks, hours after a statue of Saddam Hussein had been toppled in 2003
d. British General Stanley Maude, just before British forces captured Baghdad in 1917

2. On July 14, the French celebrate Bastille Day to commemorate the storming of the Bastille prison in Paris. For Iraqis, July 14 also has meaning. What happened on July 14, 1958 in Baghdad?

a. Saddam Hussein became president of Iraq.
b. Several pro-British leaders, including the young Iraqi king, were executed.
c. Iraqi leader Brigadier Abd al Karim Qasim nationalized the country's oil industry.
d. A CIA-backed coup resulted in Qasim's execution.

3. Against which Iraqi ethnic group did Saddam Hussein order the use of chemical weapons in 1988?

a. The "Marsh Arabs"
b. Sunnis from the Tikriti tribe
c. The Shi'is
d. The Kurds

4. Which sovereign state did Saddam Hussein refer to as Iraq's "nineteenth province"?

a. Saudi Arabia
b. Kuwait
c. Iran
d. Israel

5. What happened on April 9, 2003?

a. President Bush declared "Mission Accomplished."
b. U.S. soldiers and celebrating Iraqis toppled a metallic statue of Saddam Hussein.
c. Iraqi civilians decorated the road to Baghdad airport with red, white, and blue flowers.
d. Iraqi exiles gathered outside one of Saddam's palaces and sang "The Star-Spangled Banner."

6. The Abu Ghraib scandal, which did so much to undermine America's moral standing in Iraq, was first broken on which Sunday news program?

a. 60 Minutes (CBS)
b. Meet the Press (NBC)
c. This Week With George Stephanopoulos (ABC)
d. Hannity's America (Fox News Channel)

7. Who was put on trial for lying to prosecutors about disclosing the identity of a covert CIA operative, whose husband had written an op-ed piece in the New York Times criticizing the Bush administration's rationale for going to war in Iraq?

a. Judith Miller (former New York Times reporter who wrote extensively about Iraq's weapons programs)
b. Zalmay Khalilzad (former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan and later Iraq)
c. Lewis "Scooter" Libby (former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney and a key figure in making the case for military action against Saddam Hussein)
d. Paul Wolfowitz (former U.S. deputy secretary of defense and a staunch proponent of military action against Saddam Hussein)

8. What name did Saddam Hussein's executioners use to taunt him before they hanged him?

a. Hulagu (Mongol general who destroyed Baghdad in the thirteenth century)
b. Nuri (former Iraqi prime minister who was killed for collaborating with the British)
c. Sistani (Iraq's senior Shi'i cleric)
d. Moqtada (influential Iraqi Shi'i cleric and leader of the Mahdi army)

(Answer key for quiz: 1D, 2B, 3D, 4B, 5B, 6A, 7C, 8D)

A FUNERAL IN BAGHDAD
Baghdad, Iraq, 2005
© 2005 Getty Images, Inc.


THE FALL OF SADDAM
Baghdad, Iraq, 2003
© 2003 Getty Images, Inc.